It has been proposed in the past to secure an accessory, in particular the electric motor of a motorised fan unit associated with the radiator, directly on the radiator (heat exchanger), instead of fixing it either to cross-members or to elements of the chassis or bodywork of the vehicle as in traditional arrangements.
Up to the present time, this fastening on the heat exchanger has been obtained by fastening the accessory on the side plates of the heat exchanger, or on the water headers, or fluid headers, of the heat exchanger. Although this is generally satisfactory, this arrangement does have the disadvantage that the fastening points of the heat exchanger itself are relatively remote from the accessory to be secured, and that some kind of supplementary fastening member is necessary. Such a fastening member is often relatively difficult to make, and in any case it adds to the cost of the heat exchanger assembly.
In addition, it has been proposed to secure the accessory directly on the tube bundle (or matrix) of the heat exchanger, using fastening members, generally dowels or bars, which pass through the cooling fin elements. This arrangement has the disadvantage that it makes it necessary to form passages through the fin elements.